Developers behind the Maidenhead Golf Course redevelopment want to make changes to a key junction to access the site – but councillors raised safety concerns and deferred their decision. 

The Royal Borough approved an outline application for the highly controversial development in December 2025.

Cala Homes is planning to build up to 1,500 homes on the course and is also proposing a secondary and primary school as well as a community centre and commercial spaces.

A roundabout was initially proposed to serve as the primary vehicular access at the southern entrance to the site off Harvest Hill Road.

At a Maidenhead Development Management Committee meeting yesterday (Tuesday), councillors were presented with proposed alterations to the approved plans, known as a Section 73 variation.

Some of the planning conditions would be varied as part of this, and one of the changes looks at replacing the roundabout with a T-junction.

Leona Hunnify, the applicant’s agent, said the roundabout would need a substantially larger area of land and extensive excavation.

The roundabout was proposed with 2,000 homes in mind, but now that the scheme has been scaled back to 1,500 homes, a T-junction is a ‘simpler and more proportionate solution’, Ms Hunnify said.

Royal Borough highways officers raised no objection ‘in principle’ to the proposed change, subject to legal agreements being secured with the developer.

The developer would have to provide details around how the road would change, including a road safety assessment.

But Councillor Gurch Singh (Lib Dem, St Mary’s) remained concerned about the safety on the road.

“It’s the wrong design for the wrong road,” said Cllr Singh and stressed that he wants to ‘future-proof’ the road.

But Louise Reid, the council’s deputy head of planning, said: “We’ve explained several times that you’re putting the cart before the horse.

“Highways [officers] have come back and to the best of their knowledge at this stage in time, until they start getting into the detailed work, [their view] is that the junction is safe.”

At this stage the applicant is not required to give ‘extensive’ details about the works.

Ms Reid later explained that both the roundabout and T-junction work when it comes to highway safety, but the junction is better for active travel –  including pedestrians and cyclists.

But Cllr Mandy Brar (Lib Dem, Bisham and Cookham) said she was ‘a bit puzzled’.

“Our own highway officer should be here to answer questions at the panel,” she said.

“It’s very hard to make your mind up when the highway officers are not present at a planning meeting and they should be.”

Cllr Mark Howard (Lib Dem, Bisham and Cookham) said he was ‘a little bit conflicted’ between the roundabout and a T-junction.

He asked if the traffic generated from the proposed schools was taken into account when looking at the change.

The meeting heard a transport statement was submitted which showed how traffic would impact the development as a whole – including peak morning and evening rush hour traffic.

“There is clearly strong disquiet about the roundabout changing to a T-junction – I think that’s very clear,” said Cllr Howard.

Ultimately, councillors voted to defer the application and seek further information around a road safety audit (RSA).

They also asked for an assessment to look at the wider traffic impacts for the overall Southwest Maidenhead development site.